Deidre Rubenstein

Deidre Rubenstein (born 1948) is an Australian screen and theatre actress, dramatist and playwright, well known for her performance in Australian soap operas and main stage dramatic roles.

Early life Rubenstein, who is Jewish, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1967.

Career

Television and film Rubenstein has worked in television comedies, drama, mini-series and TV movies. In 1970 she appeared in an episode of Homicide. She played a recurring guest role in Prisoner (1979–80), as terrorist Janet Dominguez.

She had leading roles in 1990 film Breaking Through and 1985 miniseries Palace of Dreams, the latter for which she won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress.

In 2004 Rubenstein played the scheming Svetlanka Ristic for twelve episodes of the soap opera Neighbours.

In 1993, she had a solo show called What's a Girl to Do?, where she performed poems written by contemporary Australian female poets. It was later performed by Rubenstein at The Stables Theatre in Sydney (1994) and at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival.

This show inspired her to do another solo show using work commissioned for her, work that was written to be performed live. She was awarded a Victorian Government Women Artist's Grant and commission contemporary writers to produce the performance pieces that were later produced in a book called Confidentially Yours. The first performance was in the Playbox Theatre Centre, C.U.B Malthouse, Melbourne on 11 February 1998. The writers commissioned to produce the work that became Confidentially Yours were Janis Balodis, Andrew Bovell, Nick Enright, Michael Gurr, Daniel Keene, Joanna Murray-Smith and Debra Oswald. Andrew Bovell wrote a pair of stories for the show that he later used in the script for the film Lantana.

In 2005, Rubenstein performed in Menopause the Musical, a comedy breaking down the taboos about menopause. with Caroline Gillmer, Susan-Ann Walker and Jane Clifton. Rubenstein as 'The Dubbo Housewife', explored the stereotypes and madness of that time in a woman's life.

In 2015, she played Gertrude Stein in the musical Loving Repeating - a Musical of Gertrude Stein in Melbourne.

Audiobooks Rubenstein has produced a significant body of work as a narrator of audio books and has won several awards in this field.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Type 1990 Breaking Through Ann Film 1991 The Girl Who Came Late (aka Daydream Believer) Trish Schultz Feature film 1996 Inner Sanctuary Peggy Feature film 1999 Siam Sunset Celia Droon Feature film 2000 The Calling Martha O’Connor Short film 2001 Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes Las Vegas Judge TV film 2002 Secret Bridesmaids' Business Ruth TV film 2004 Josh Jarman Theatre Actress Feature film 2008 Salvation Gloria’s Coach Feature film 2008 Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger Mrs Fleisher Feature film 2011 Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away Uncredited TV film 2015 Force of Destiny Miriam Feature film 2023 The Rooster Mrs Poulson Feature film

Television Year Title Role Type 1970 Homicide Jane TV series, 1 episode 1978–1980 Prisoner Janet Dominguez TV series, 5 episodes 1980 Water Under the Bridge Lainey TV series, 3 episodes 1982 The Mike Walsh Show Guest (with Tony Taylor) TV series, 1 episode 1985 Palace of Dreams Chana Mendel Miniseries, 10 episodes 1988 Australians Nance Miniseries, 1 episode 1988 Rafferty's Rules Peggy Guest TV series, 1 episode 1988 A Country Practice Helen Morris TV series, 2 episodes 1989 E Street Louise Baker TV series, 1 episode 1989 G.P. Iris Grimshaw TV series, 3 episodes 1996 Mercury Steffi Petrakis Miniseries, 2 episodes 1997–2003 Blue Heelers Helen Delaney / Magda Lapenscu TV series, 2 episodes 2000 Introducing Gary Petty Nancy TV series, 6 episodes 2001–2002 BackBerner Psychologist TV series, 2 episodes 2002 The Secret Life of Us Nathan’s Mum TV series, 2 episodes 2002 MDA Dr Fallows TV series, 1 episode 2004 Neighbours Svetlanka Ristic TV series, 12 episodes 2007 Kick Reva Feinmann Miniseries, 1 episode 2008 Saddle Club Rosemary Cross TV series, 1 episode 2008 City Homicide Cheridah Lapstone TV series, 1 episode 2021 Superwog Agnes YouTube series, 1 episode 2024 White Fever Grandma Coral TV series, 1 episode

Theatre

As actor Year Title Role Type 1966 Two Programs of Short Plays: The Pier Second Girl Jane Street Theatre, Sydney 1967 Camille and Perdican Dame Pluche UNSW, Old Tote Theatre, Sydney, with NIDA & Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust 1967 Point of Departure Cashier / Mother UNSW, Old Tote Theatre, Sydney, with NIDA & Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust 1967 Three Men on a Horse Hotel Maid UNSW, Old Tote Theatre, Sydney, with NIDA 1967 The Schoolmistress UNSW, Old Tote Theatre, Sydney 1967 The Winter’s Tale Perdita UNSW, Old Tote Theatre, Sydney, with NIDA 1968; 1969 The Boy Friend Hortense Canberra Theatre, Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne with Harry M. Miller 1969 The Rise and Fall of Boronia Avenue Jane Street Theatre, Sydney with NIDA & Old Tote Theatre Company 1970 Cat Among the Pigeons Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, Canberra Theatre with MTC 1970 Philadelphia, Here I Come! Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1970 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Tractor Driver / Ludovica Russell Street Theatre 1970 A Doll’s House Canberra Theatre, Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1970 Day of Glory Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1970 The Devils Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1970 Son of Man Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1970 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1970; 1971 All's Well That Ends Well Diana Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Canberra Theatre, Octagon Theatre, Perth with MTC 1971 The Government Inspector Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1971 The Philanthropist Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1971 Galileo Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1971 The Contractor Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, Canberra Theatre with MTC 1971 The Recruiting Officer Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1971 The Trial of the Catonsville Nine Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 1971; 1972 The Man who Shot the Albatross Mary Putland Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Canberra Theatre, Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide with MTC 1975 The Enchanted Forest St James Playhouse, Sydney with PACT Youth Theatre 1979 The Twenties and All That Jazz Queensland Theatre 1979 The Ripper Show Jane Sharpe Playbox Theatre, Melbourne with Hoopla Theatre Foundation 1980 The Bride of Gospel Place Delia Jane Street Theatre, Sydney, with NIDA 1980 The Dybbuk Frade Jane Street Theatre, Sydney, with NIDA 1980 You and the Night and the House Wine Nimrod Theatre, Sydney (also Playwright) 1980; 1981 Catch a Rising Star Melbourne Theatre Restaurant 1981 Three Sisters Natalya Ivanova Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1981 A Couple of Strangers Nimrod Theatre, Sydney (also Devisor) 1981 Cloud 9 Edward / Betty Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1981 Tales from the Vienna Woods Alfred's Mother / Various characters Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1982 Candide The Baroness Seymour Centre, Sydney, Melbourne 1982 Burn Victim Deidre Nimrod Theatre, Sydney (also Writer) 1982 Variations Fran Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1983 Top Girls Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1983 As You Like It Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1986 Mixed Doubles Wharf Theatre, Sydney, with STC for Sydney Festival 1986 Wild Honey Seymour Centre, Sydney 1986 She Stoops to Conquer Mrs Hardcastle Seymour Centre, Sydney, with Nimrod Theatre Company 1986 The Merchant of Venice Seymour Centre, Sydney, with Nimrod Theatre Company 1986 All's Well That Ends Well Circus Style Performer Seymour Centre, Sydney, with Nimrod Theatre Company 1987 Trumpets and Raspberries State Theatre Company of Northern Territory 1987 Les Liaisons Dangereuses Matron Seymour Centre, Sydney, with Nimrod Theatre Company 1988 Absurd Person Singular Jane Hopcroft Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1989 Curtains Northside Theatre, Sydney 1990 Once in a Lifetime Sydney Opera House with STC 1991 Morning Sacrifice Miss Charlotte Bates Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1991 Heroic Measures Nadia Ginzburg Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company 1992 Petrov: The Musical Melbourne Concert Hall with Victorian Arts Centre 1992 No Going Back Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1992 A Month of Sundays Mrs Baker Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1992 When She Danced Russell Street Theatre with MTC 1993 Blood Moon Anna Theatre Works, Melbourne 1993; 1994; 1995 What's a Girl to Do? Solo show Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company, Stables Theatre, Sydney, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh for Edinburgh Festival (also Devisor) 2019 Shakespeare in Love Queen Elizabeth Canberra Theatre, Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC 2022 Admissions Roberta Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, with MTC 2023 Escaped Alone / What If Only Sally / Fs Southbank Theatre, Melbourne

As crew Year Title Role Type 1980 You and the Night and the House Wine Playwright / Director Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1981 A Couple of Strangers Devisor Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1982 Burn Victim Writer Nimrod Theatre, Sydney 1988 You and the Night and the House Wine Playwright Riverina Playhouse, Wagga Wagga 1993; 1994; 1995 What's a Girl to Do? Devisor Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company, Stables Theatre, Sydney, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh for Edinburgh Festival 1993; 1994; 1995 Dorothy Parker Says Creator Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, Mietta's, Melbourne, Stables Theatre, Sydney, Queanbeyan School of Arts Cafe with Victorian Arts Centre 1998; 2002 Confidentially Yours Devisor Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Butter Factory Theatre, Wodonga with Playbox Theatre Company

Awards and nominations Year Work Award Category Result 1986 Palace of Dreams Australian Film Institute Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini Series 1996 Deidre Rubenstein Women Artists Grants Victorian Government initiative to encourage emerging women artists living and working in Victoria 1998 Dreamtime Alice by Mandy Sayer TDK Australian Audio Book Awards Narrator Award for Unabridged Fiction 2001 The Architect by Jillian Watkinson Vision Australia Library Awards Adult Narrator of the Year Award (joint award with James Wright)